Fantastic Bats

Diverse in appearance and amazing in flight, bats are beautiful for many reasons.

Left: Townsend's big-eared bat roosts on a rock. When this bat hibernates, its large ears fold back. Top: The pallid bat, know for eating ground insects, including scorpions. Right: A hoary bat, the most widely distributed bat in the United States and Canada.

Photo courtesy MICHAEL DURHAM

Silver-haired bat.

Photo courtesy MICHAEL DURHAM

Grey-headed flying fox of Australia.

Photo courtesy THEO ALOFFS/GETTY IMAGES

Hoary bat.

Photo courtesy MICHAEL DURHAM

The 20 million Mexican free-tailed bats that live in Texas’ Bracken Cave consume about 200 tons of insects every night.

Photo courtesy STEPHEN KRASEMANN/GETTY IMAGES

A long-eared myotis bat swoops down for a drink from a small pond in eastern Oregon.

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